loop that is making for a very slow commute on that northwest corner there at old court road. as we look at the crash that is blocking the two right lanes, traffic is very heavy past the scene of that accident. pretty much at a crawl. so you can expect pretty significant delays as you make your way across that area between, on the outer loop at old court road this morning. also working several other incidents around the area. we have an incident that still continues, that same spot we just saw. also middle river, two accidents, one that has kingston road closed between eastern boulevard and hawthorne road. another accident in a residential area, middle river, old eastern boulevard near harrison avenue. south of the beltway, we have an accident, 295 approaching waterview road. that is blocking the two left lanes, only one lane gets by now on the bw parkway. leaving baltimore city. expect it to be slow there. an earlier accident in howard county, 95 southbound on the ramp to eastbound route 32. in the process of being cleared. out in western howard county,

marriottsville, old frederick road closed in both directions between cove wood lane and marriottsville road because of down power lines. expect delays as you head out the door. back to you. southwest is about to get bigger. a lot bigger. the discount carrier will buy another discount carrier so what does this mean for you? will it be cheaper when you fly? sherrie johnson is live at bwi marshall with more. >> reporter: good morning. a merger between two major airline carriers known for deep discounts has some passengers a little worried about increased fares. southwest airlines plans to buy airtran for a reported $1.4 billion. bwi marshall is the airline's largest east coast hub and the two carriers serve 70% of the passengers flying in and out of bwi marshall. the deal will move southwest into 37 new cities. and with the competition of airtran gone some passengers fear the fares will eventually go up. >> local travelers in this region will gain further

access to the southwest system. the airline indicates that it plans to continue its growth across the nation. >> i thought it was good at first but now i'm worried about the competition because in might drive up the -- now because it might drive up the prices. >> reporter: the deal won't be final until 2012. sherrie johnson, abc2 news. >> what do you think? the story is on facebook. you can leave your comments on how you think this will affect airline prices. head to abc2news.com and click at the bottom of the home page. go to facebook. a look now at the stories making headlines around the nation. justin, listen up. anyone living in the city of angels got a taste of purgatory yesterday. l.a. had 113 degrees, the highest since 1877. it's an unexpected summer in this full week of autumn. those hitting the beach did whatever they could to keep cool, like using umbrellas while on the sidewalk, to stepping into a fountain with their clothes on.

>> it's hotter than hell out here. >> i thought it was fall, guess not. >> do you agree, the national weather service says the prolonged period of heat is caused by a ridge of high pressure that is keeping the pacific ocean's normal cool temperatures at a distance. is that right? thank you. i did my homework. a small brush fire broke out. they quickly put it out. >> a pause from the meteorologist. a virginia beach teen says he was attacked by a shark, has 51 stitches to prove it. 19-year-old caleb kuchak was surfing with friends, something brushed up against them. they were next to their boards an felt something in the water. right up next to him. >> look at the teeth imprints. i thought it would never happen. when we first got there it did not even cross my mind. that we were potentially in danger. >> with help from buddies caleb

got back on the beach. rescuers believe he was attacked by a shark. he's anyneys and ankles -- his knees and ankles are bandaged up. he says he'll be back in the water. 6:34. lawmakers want toys and happy meals depending on calorie count. san francisco supervisor eric marr has introduced an orderinnans that would ban toy giveways in kids' meals that exceed more than 600 calories, the cordinnans would not only restrict calories but require nor fruit and vegetables pr meal. mcdonald's says we already do. >> we offer apple dippers, a half cup of fruit and full serving of fruit. we offer low fat white milk as a choice for parents. i disagree our happy meals don't fit the guidelines. >> fast food giants like mcdonald's, taco bell and burger king are considered the worst offenders. meals that are in compliance with the new nutritional guidelines would be allowed to

include the popular promotional toys and discussions on the issue will of course continue next month. a baltimore-based company is probably pretty happy to choose anquan bolden after his performance against the browns sunday. >> the wide receiver received a big endorsement deal. what ads will feature him. >> and if they selected one of the ladies of the lingerie football league they will have more ads. how to grab a pair of tickets.

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wide receiver bolden is the new face of underarmor. he signed an endorsement deal and will appear in various proprofessional campaigns for the company. he's a standout in the ravens 24-17 victory sunday against the cleveland browns. he's playing in his first year with the team he joins ravens

linebacker ray lewis as an endorser. the ravens escaped the game against the browns with a win, however, they may have lost ray rice. the running back left the game in the fourth quarter and head coach john harbaugh called his injury significant. a knee bruise. it's unclear if rice will be back on the field when the ravens go to pittsburgh on sunday. he's expected to appear today at the inner harbor as part of the healthy city days which runs from 11:30 to 1:30. you can jump rope there, hula hoop, even zumba. >> really? >> can you see ray doing zumba? >> not today. >> no word on what he will be doing in participating in the event. we're not told his appearance is off. there's a chance you'll see him if you head there. the orioles without buck showalter in the dugout. the skipper was suspended for one game after the blue jays outfielder batista was hit by pitches. simone got a three-day

suspension and he's appealing. on the field, while the yankees and ravens hold hands the orioles are the other team. when the orioles come back to prominence can you imagine 11,000 in in camden yards on a september night? brian shut out the rays. the yankees loss to the rays, still a half game up in this one. 12,000 to watch last night. off great team. support it. time to suit up for the kickoff of the lfl. that is lingerie football league. >> the baltimore charm will hold their home opener at first mariner arena friday night. it will feature bone-crushing contact with gorgeous women. it will be broadcast nationally on mtv2. baltimore charm

against the tampa breeze. he just wanted to tape his ride on the highway. >> when a police officer got involved things got complicated. >> what began as a traffic stop turned into something much more serious. i'm linda so. why a man who video tairpd a state cop found himself in a lot of trouble. >> a gang member accused of killing a fellow gang member for his sexual orientation will find out his fate today. >> plus, no more comparing prices between southwest and airtran. the discount airlines are becoming one. >> the creator of the wire could be coming out with a new hit show. he received a prestigious grant to help him in his creative endeavors.

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bob ehrlich pretends to be for the working guy... but he's not on our side. i thought i knew bob ehrlich, but then i found out... he raised property taxes on every maryland family... and business. he increased college tuition... by 40%. 40%. and i thought i knew bob ehrlich. he was against raising the minimum wage. made $2.5 million... working for a lobbying firm. $2.5 million? he's not really on my side. with this tough economy, we really need a governor on our side. i always feed in the fall. but, it's the best time. feed your lawn in the fall. the fall feeding makes all the difference in the world. what the fall feeding does is build the roots.. that's when the roots sorta want nutrition. i give my lawn scotts winterguard. it's like a root building machine. it builds your lawn from the roots up. next year you get this! the stronger the roots, the stronger the lawn.

all year long. the best time to feed is when it will do the most good. there's no substitute for the fall feeding, trust me. it is the best thing you can do for your lawn. i use scotts winterguard. i'm megan pringle [i'm jamie costello. we're talking about the merger that is going to affect a lot of you. >> a lot of people are talking about this. two low-priced airlines that make up most of the traffic at bwi marshall, they are becoming one. so what does this mean for travelers? we'll have more on that story in a bit. first let's go to meteorologist justin berk. >> good morning. we are watching bands of rain move through. some still heavy at times and we have a flood watch that takes us through 8:00 this

morning. basically the radar highlighting heavier rain just northwest of baltimore. and if you are traveling in the hereford zone you're dealing with fog and spray, that is including to taneytown, northwestern carroll county. there's the flood watch until 8:00 a.m. then the showers try to break with a partly sunny sky, still a threat of an isolated storm from lunchtime through the afternoon, 2-degree guaranteed high of 79. there's a chance of a tropical storm forming. i'm looking at new information that could roll up the east coast and affect us by the end of the week. more on that in a moment. right now i got kim brown's attention, so let's get your attention with a look at traffic. traffic not looking so hot. we have problems on the outer loop of the beltway and bw parkway. let's look, this is going to be the outer loop at old court road, a crash is blocking the two right lanes. traffic is jammed pretty much from the 83s as you approach the scene. now, it tends to ease up past old court road and gets slow again headed towards liberty road. southbound on the bw parkway watching waterview avenue, a

serious crash, take 95 instead of 295. only one lane is open at that scene. and road closures in western howard county and middle river, more details in a few minutes. back to you. 6:46. this wasn't exactly taping your 3-year-old's recital. this was a recording of a traffic stop in harford county. abc2 news linda so tells us what happened to a motorcyclist pulled over by a state cop. >> >> reporter: that motorcyclist was arrested and charged with more serious counts than speeding. 24-year-old anthony graber thought he was being robbed when pulled over by a state trooper in an unmarked car. he started to videotape the trooper as he gave him a ticket. then posted the video on youtube. that prompted state police to charge graber with three felony wiretapping counts. the attorney planned to take him to trial but a circuit court judge dropped the charges essentially dismissing the case. graber's attorney says the ruling means recording police on the job is now not a crime in maryland.

>> the judge held that the state police -- the state place -- police or any other police officer have no reasonable expectation of privacy in their public on the job communications. >> reporter: the state's attorney has the option to appeal. meanwhile, a spokesman for the state police says if a trooper encounters a video camera in the future they will allow the recording to continue. in the studio, linda so, abc2 news. 6:47. the johns hopkins doctor shot in the stomach a week and a half ago is out of the hospital. a local publication reports that dr. cohen was released last night. 50-year-old paul warren pardis shot the doctor after telling him about his mother's diagnosis. he shot his mother before shooting himself. no word on when the doctor will return to work. a reputed gang leader scheduled to be sentenced today, timothy rawlings jr. was found guilty of ordering the killing of a fellow gang member because of his suspicions about the victim's sexual orientation.

authorities say rawlings believed 18-year-old steven parrish would make the gang look weak. two other gang members allegedly lured him into a wooded area and killed him in may of 2008. 6:48. a trial set for two people accused of stabbing a johns hopkins university researcher to death as he walked home in the baltimore charles village neighborhood. john wagner and lavelva merritt of baltimore will stand trial in january on the 26th in the death of 23-year-old steven picari fl. it happened in july. police say they demanded cash from him and stabbed him in the chest. charges later showed the couple later bragged about the crime and bloody shoes, a wallet and i-phone were found in their home. a jury in california convicted a man of murder in the drunk driving death of angels pitcher and maryland native nick adenhart. 22-year-old andrew gallo was found guilty of murder and other charges. he was drunk driving when he

was in the consider that killed aidan -- car that killed adenhart and two of his friends. he faces 50 years to life in prison. adenhart was from williamsport, from that area and pitched seven shutout innings just hours before that crash took place. and took his life. 6:49. building inspectors will be all over west baltimore today trying to determine what caused a building to just fall down. city rescue crews were called in to the druid hill avenue area and laurens street, happened 3:30 yesterday. fire crews were digging through the debris looking for survivors. after police received initial reports a woman was standing near the building when it came down. >> like, loud thunder, boom, boom. that was it. my daughter seen it fall. >> crews found no evidence anyone was inside or hurt. 6:50. baltimore county police are searching for suspects in the stabbing at security mall. around 11:00 yesterday morning police responded to the 6900 block of security boulevard, they found a man stabbed in the

back. witnesses say the victim was a student at north america trade school at the mall. police are using surveillance cameras from inside the mall to learn more about the attack. the victim was taken to shock trauma for his injuries. no word this morning on his condition. 6:50. 10 minutes from "good morning america." southwest passengers out at bwi marshall airport fear airline prices will go up when the low-cost carrier merger with airtran. a $1.4 billion deal announced yesterday so right now the two airlines serve 70% of passengers flying in and out of bwi marshall. the deal will move southwest into 37 new cities including atlanta, the nation's largest airport, one big change though, airtran charges $20 for the first checked bag. southwest says it will drop that fee. but overall passengers fear that their wallets will take a hit. >> my first thought when i heard they would merge. losing a competitor. i'm concerned about rates. >> there's a listing web site,

called airfarewatch.com. it says fares will go up but not to unreasonable levels. the deal is not finished until 2012. what do you think about this story? on facebook, you can leave comments. how you think it will affect airline prices. we'll try to read the comments on the air. head to abc2news.com. click on the bottom of the home page and go to facebook. maryland will become the eighth state where drivers can no longer talk on phones, without hands-free devices. the law takes effect friday. maryland transportation and law enforcement officials will ganger today to -- gather today to explain the new law. drivers could be fined $40 for first violations. $100 for subsequent ones. a secondary offense, so drivers can only be pulled over if they are committing another offense as well. such as running a stop sign while talking on the phone. david simon, the creator of the hbo television series "the wire" based in baltimore is

among 23 recipients for this year's mcarthur foundation genius grants. the $500,000 grants were awarded and announced in chicago. the money is paid quarrel over five -- quarterly over five years. no strings, allowing the winners freedom to really pursue their creative projects as they choose. we have sad news from the national aquarium. shiloh, 31-year-old atlantic bottle nose dolphin died following a yearlong illness. she was put down at the baltimore aquarium where she lived since 1993. she was treated for an iron storage disease and series of other illnesses. the aquarium spokeswoman tells us that shiloh was the second oldest dolphin at the aquarium behind one who is 38. shiloh gave birth to chesapeake and mia who are still there and the grandmother of 2-year-old bayley. you've seen the license plates and soon you'll see the coins commemorating the war of 1812. >> children, listen up.

you can get involved in the coin's design, too. to honor fort mchenry and the critical role that maryland played in the growth of our young nation the star spangled banner commemorative coin is being minted. maryland lawmakers who spearheaded the bill are asking all area kids to submit their designs and ideas by for the coins by centennial commission in 2012. it's being minted in coordination with the 200th anniversary of the war. for more information on this, to learn about submitting your child's drawings, go to our web site for more information. abc2news.com. 6:53. still dealing with the stormy pattern. still rain pushing through. and heavy rain to the south that will be riding up the bay and clipping the eastern shore as well. all in response to this area of low pressure that will continue to ride to the north, drag cooler, drier air behind it. in fact we won't really cool

off this afternoon but we should be pushing the dry line through and get sun out and an isolated storm could follow in the afternoon. basically, i want to follow this pattern here that does look very stormy, once this storm passes, it locks in cooler air but we'll also be tapping into something that could be forming in the gulf of mexico. this is just at the bottom of the screen here. the national hurricane center indicating 80% chance of a tropical cyclone developing next name on the list would be nicole. forecast models take this quickly up the coast thursday into friday. we could be dealing with tropical storm nicole of some fashion rolling up the east coast. check our forecast model which does follow heavy rain. after we get this batch out and pushing across to the eastern shore by this afternoon. we follow in this frontal boundary stalled to the south. this is tomorrow morning. watch tomorrow night and watch thursday. heavy rain from whatever that low pressure is, named or not named, could bring us flooding thursday into friday. we'll continue to watch it from the storm center with updates on-line at abc2news.com. check this out though, 79

today, after the morning rain and isolated thunderstorm but otherwise we turn partly sunny. we dry out tonight, dropping back down into the 50s. tomorrow 72. the clouds come back with rain at night. watch that heavy rain, potential flooding thursday and this weekend's highs drop cooler in the 60s. a little bit of good news for the morning commute. in middle river, kingston road has been reopened at eastern boulevard so traffic is able to move freely there. traffic not moving so freely on the beltway this morning, outer loop on the northwest corner at old court road. sorry about the shaky camera. i guess it's windy. as the rain moves through. the two right lanes continue to be blocked. traffic is pretty much jammed from 83 approaching stevenson road. you might want to avoid this. 795 also jammed from owings mills boulevard on down towards 695. as we look now at our maps, dealing with several other incidents, another accident up in owings mills, that is reported to bality wynans road and -- sorry, wynans and old court road.

and we have a road closure in baltimore city, that happens oakfield avenue closed between norfolk avenue and fairview because of a reported building collapse, wolcott should get you around that. western howard county, down wires has old frederick road closed in both directions between cove wood lane and marriottsville road. try to avoid that area as well. another accident in baltimore city, southbound lanes of the bw parkway, only one lane gets by as you approach waterview so probably try to take 95 as an alternate. >> wow. >> busy on the roads. my goodness. >> glad we're at work all right. take it easy if you're heading anywhere. if not, stick around for "good morning maryland" at 9:00. >> right? >> right. we'll be here.

good morning, america. i'm george stephanopoulos. >> and